Transient Astronomy - Getting Started

For background, you should at least skim-read the paper Transient Astronomy with ACP Scheduler (PDF).

Introduction

Before using the VOEvent Receiver, it needs to be configured. Since the receiver depends on the scheduler, the scheduler must be running before starting the receiver. Once the scheduler is running, start the receiver. It will first appear minimized on the task bar and its icon will appear in the task tray:

screenshot

Click on its task bar icon or right click on its task tray icon and select Restore VOEvent Receiver. Either way, the receiver's window will appear. You'll notice that its "window" is its configuration window. This is where you make all of the settings for the Receiver.

Clicking on an item in the left column shows help for that setting in the pane at the bottom.

Authorization to Connect to the VOEvent Network

Before the VOEvent receiver will connect to the VOEvent network, you must be authorized. Determine your IP address (or the range of IP addresses if you have a dynamic address), then contact DC-3 Dreams to be added to the list of authorized users. You only have to do this once.

Setting Up the VOEvent Receiver – Essentials

There are a few settings that must be set for your observatory, listed by their section in the configuration grid. For now, leave the others at their default. Note that the VOEvent broker at DC-3 Dreams, voevent.dc3.com, is the default for getting events (incoming) and for alerting (outgoing) events.

2. Active Event Types

Here is where you select which types of VOEvents which you want to trigger observing requests for your observatory. They are indicated by 3-letter codes. The standard types (which are defined by the event filter script) are:

SWF - GRB alerts from the Swift spacecraft
TOC - IAU/CBAT Transient Object Confirmation requests
CRT - Catalina Sky Survey transient alerts (all 3 stations)
US1 - User-defined 1 (see Introduction to Customizing)
US1 - User-defined 2 (see Introduction to Customizing)

The default setting allows Swift and INTEGRAL alerts (SWF,INT). Set your preferences via a comma-separated list.

3. Receiver

IVO Identity: If you're going to use the Alerter, this is critical. It is your worldwide identity on the VOEvent network. It consists of a reversed domain name, a slash, and a sub-name. If you're an amateur observatory, use com.dc3/xxx where xxx is some identifier for your observatory. If you want help, feel free to contact DC-3 Dreams. If you're an educational institution, use the reversed domain of your university's email system, for example, edu.arizona/physastro. If you already have an IVO identity, use that.
Contact Email: This should be the primary email address at which you can be contacted, and to which the Receiver will send email alerts. Please don't use a "spam catcher" or "group" address you may have set up for email receiving. Use an address at which you can be contacted by anyone on the VOEvent network or in the IVOA without being trapped for spam.

6. Email Alerts

Send Email Alerts: If you want email alerts for observable events and (if the Alerter is enabled) completion of followup observations, set this to True. Note that this service uses the email alerting service of the Scheduler, so be sure to have that set up as well. Unless you modify the RTML observing plan templates, these messages will go to the Contact Email address set above.

Setting Up The VOEvent Alerter – Essentials

If you want alert VOEvents for your follow-up observations to be sent to the network, you'll need to set up the Alerter as well. Again, make only the settings described below and leave the others at the default until you get familiar and the need for other changes arises.

7. Alerter

Alerting Mode: To enable the alerter, change this from Disabled to Test or Live. Before doing this, you must set up the Alert Messages section as described below. In Test mode, the events sent out from your observatory will have a role of "test" and will be ignored by the rest of the network. Only when you have everything working should you set this to Live.

8. Alert Messages

Author Email: This has a dual role. It's used as a "fallback" contact email address for the alert message Author section. It is also used as the address to which the Alerter will send email notices of follow up completion. As before, use a real/reliable email address here!
Author Name: Your full name, not a "username" or something. It's used as a fallback name for the alert message Author section.
Author Organization: The name of your observatory, your university and department.
Aperture: The aperture of the telescope (centimeters) that will be making the follow up observations.
Focal Length: The focal length of the telescope (centimeters) that will be making the follow up observations. You can get the precise focal length of your telescope from the beginning of any ACP observing log.
Horizontal and Vertical Field of View: The field of view of the imaging system (arc minutes). This refers to the dimensions of the imager's field (irrespective of the imager's orientation against the equatorial coordinate system). Usually, for a rectangular field of view, the horizontal dimension will be the larger of the two. You can get the precise field of view of your images from the beginning of any ACP observing log.
Base Pixel Scale: The pixel or plate scale of your imaging system (arc seconds per pixel). You can get the precise pixel scale of your images from the beginning of any ACP observing log.

Checking Out the Receiver and Alerter

After making these settings, it's strongly recommended that you test your observatory's response to VOEvents by using the Test Event Generator functions of the receiver. This is described in VOEvent Receiver Operation and Testing.